In October 2016, despite massive public opposition, the Greater Cambridge City Deal Executive Board selected the southerly off-road route (Option 3/3A) as the preferred option for a busway between Cambourne and Cambridge, with a huge Park & Ride site on Madingley Hill near the Madingley Mulch roundabout (Crome Lea farm). The off-road busway route would skirt the north side of Coton, close to residential properties, through the 100-year-old Coton Orchard, before crossing the M11 motorway over an expensive new bridge. It would then plough through the West Fields to end up on Grange Road. The whole project is estimated to cost an eye-watering £207.8 million. And there are other options available.

We oppose the Park & Ride at Crome Lea because:

It will ruin the Coton Corridor, forever eliminating the rural setting of Western Cambridge

Being on a hilltop location, the site will be visible from across Cambridge

It has poor road connectivity so will not get enough people out their cars

The location could increase flooding problems for Coton

This site will be redundant when the Girton Interchange is upgraded to an all-ways junction as part of the Oxford to Cambridge Expressway.

It is environmentally destructive – of all considered options, this option has the highest forecast increase in C02 and NOx

This route will lead to the destruction of the much-loved Coton footpath/cyclepath with its dedicated traffic-free bridge over the M11

It is too expensive. An on-road bus lane down Madingley Rise could be provided at a fifth of the cost

It represents poor value for money with a benefit-to-cost ratio (BCR) of only 0.2; the Treasury normally requires a BCR of over 2 for infrastructure projects

It will ruin the Coton Corridor and West Fields, forever eliminating the Green Belt setting of Western Cambridge.

The public was not properly engaged in the design process for this project. Massive public opposition to this route was only given a 4% weighting in the options selection process. We now demand that the City Deal listen to local residents.

Please sign this petition and forward it to your friends and neighbours.

We, the undersigned, urge the Greater Cambridge City Deal to:

Remove the Crome Lea site from consideration as a potential Park & Ride location.

Remove Option 3/3A from consideration as a busway route.

Engage properly with local residents to work up requirements specifications and design criteria for high quality public transport provision between Cambourne and Cambridge.

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Greater Cambridge City Deal Joint Assembly: No £207 million Busway through Coton, No P&R on Madingley Hill

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